Yellowhammers claw a niche in Kintyre

A ONCE common bird which became scarce, the Yellowhammer is once again flying round Kintyre.

Machrihanish Seabird Observatory warden Eddie Maguire said that Esther Thomson was regularly feeding up to 12 yellowhammers in her Davaar Avenue garden.

Mr Maguire said that Yellowhammers used to be very common in Kintyre. They have become increasingly rare as a farmland species with long-term trends showing a 55 per cent decrease in the UK population between 1970-2013.